“The Players’ Association is aware of comments provided by Dr Peter Harcourt, at a conference in Zurich in late 2013.

We disagree with Dr Harcourt’s suggestion that players passively accepted the use of supplements and did not ‘jack up and say what the hell is going on’.

As has been made abundantly clear on many occasions, players took an active role in ensuring that the substances they were to be administered were compliant with the WADA Code and were provided with written guarantees from the club to that effect.

This is hardly what we would call ‘passive acceptance’.

We also believe Dr Harcourt’s comments with regards to potential health consequences are unhelpful and have the potential to create unnecessary stress and anxiety for players and their families.

As has been reported, the Players’ Association has been working with the AFL and the club to implement a health protocol to monitor players’ health going forward.

However, to publicly speculate on any potential health issues in the absence of any evidence is premature and inappropriate.

We are seeking further information from the AFL in regards to Dr Harcourt’s comments.”